Give as a gift
“Everyday I’m reminded
that the reason I even have a voice
is because my story has never been just mine.
It has always belonged to the village
A family heirloom from my ancestors
who fought for their lives so that I can fight for ours.
This is how I know that more than anything
our stories have the power to change everything.
Why else would this country delight in our silence
and be content with leaving our history out of the narrative?”
-excerpt from the poem AAPIs Rising by Terisa Siagatonu
The works in this exhibition engage with the complexity of community and history while pushing boundaries that invite us to reimagine other realities. There is anticipation in these works, a gesture rooted in the joy that a liberatory future that’s expansive, decolonial, and gender-free is within reach. There are many of us dreaming and creating a world where social justice, queer identities, and other fundamental rights and social rights and opportunities exist more than not. Yet, despite a world so severe and unsparing, we can continue to look to our stories, songs, paintings, and poems to create maps and imagined spaces where no one asks permission to exist. Perhaps in these works, we can perfect the creation of counter systems that offer healing balms for those of us that need to leave behind a wearying past or present. Can we be reminded that it is possible to center well-being and that we can value and normalize healing scenarios in our daily lives? Beyond the ethnic cheerleading that tower over these observances, this exhibit asks its viewer to look through the lens of these Filipinx artists articulating a different world that might be around the corner.
In addition to the short films included in the collection, we invite you to watch the PBS American Masters film Maia Cruz Palileo: Becoming the Moon: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/maia-cruz-palileo-becoming-the-moon/15825/.
Guest Curator: Irene Soriano
On the day of her school pictures, Alex feels stuck with an appearance that doesn't fit right with her body. When she retreats into her mind, she is able to imagine the person she wants to be. Ultimately, she transcends the judgement of others through fashion in an authentic expression of herself.
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ELENA HEUZÉ (she/they) is a queer androgynous actor who plays the role of Alex in The Birth of a Beautiful Butch. They were born in San Mateo, California. She grew up in Manila, Philippines; then moved to Los Angeles to study Psychology and pursue acting. She went to CalStateLA for her BA in Psychology, while also taking acting classes. While growing up in the Philippines, they attended a French school where they learned fluent French, while also learning the native language, Tagalog, at home.
Website: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com//one_page_resume.cfm?custom_link=elenaheuze
- Runtime3 minutes
- DirectorGia-Rayne Harris
- ScreenwriterAndi Obarski
- ProducerJocelyn Utting
- CastElena Heuzé, Alice Kors, Dale Van Slyke, George Ayvazyan, Hugh Pierre Martin
- CinematographerAndi Obarski
- EditorJessica Petersen
“Everyday I’m reminded
that the reason I even have a voice
is because my story has never been just mine.
It has always belonged to the village
A family heirloom from my ancestors
who fought for their lives so that I can fight for ours.
This is how I know that more than anything
our stories have the power to change everything.
Why else would this country delight in our silence
and be content with leaving our history out of the narrative?”
-excerpt from the poem AAPIs Rising by Terisa Siagatonu
The works in this exhibition engage with the complexity of community and history while pushing boundaries that invite us to reimagine other realities. There is anticipation in these works, a gesture rooted in the joy that a liberatory future that’s expansive, decolonial, and gender-free is within reach. There are many of us dreaming and creating a world where social justice, queer identities, and other fundamental rights and social rights and opportunities exist more than not. Yet, despite a world so severe and unsparing, we can continue to look to our stories, songs, paintings, and poems to create maps and imagined spaces where no one asks permission to exist. Perhaps in these works, we can perfect the creation of counter systems that offer healing balms for those of us that need to leave behind a wearying past or present. Can we be reminded that it is possible to center well-being and that we can value and normalize healing scenarios in our daily lives? Beyond the ethnic cheerleading that tower over these observances, this exhibit asks its viewer to look through the lens of these Filipinx artists articulating a different world that might be around the corner.
In addition to the short films included in the collection, we invite you to watch the PBS American Masters film Maia Cruz Palileo: Becoming the Moon: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/maia-cruz-palileo-becoming-the-moon/15825/.
Guest Curator: Irene Soriano
On the day of her school pictures, Alex feels stuck with an appearance that doesn't fit right with her body. When she retreats into her mind, she is able to imagine the person she wants to be. Ultimately, she transcends the judgement of others through fashion in an authentic expression of herself.
--------------
ELENA HEUZÉ (she/they) is a queer androgynous actor who plays the role of Alex in The Birth of a Beautiful Butch. They were born in San Mateo, California. She grew up in Manila, Philippines; then moved to Los Angeles to study Psychology and pursue acting. She went to CalStateLA for her BA in Psychology, while also taking acting classes. While growing up in the Philippines, they attended a French school where they learned fluent French, while also learning the native language, Tagalog, at home.
Website: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com//one_page_resume.cfm?custom_link=elenaheuze
- Runtime3 minutes
- DirectorGia-Rayne Harris
- ScreenwriterAndi Obarski
- ProducerJocelyn Utting
- CastElena Heuzé, Alice Kors, Dale Van Slyke, George Ayvazyan, Hugh Pierre Martin
- CinematographerAndi Obarski
- EditorJessica Petersen